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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Clean up ‘chemical’ horse racing

It’s time for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to step in and clean up the thoroughbred racing industry’s addiction to drugs.
As The New York Times has just reported, over a period of four months, a PETA investigator worked for well-known trainer Steve Asmussen, trainer of Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, at two of the most famous racetracks in America: Churchill Downs in Kentucky and the Saratoga Race Course in New York. PETA’s investigation exposed many serious problems but none more harmful than the routine, pervasive and improper use of prescription drugs during training, a regimen that has begun the downward spiral to the slaughterhouse for thousands of horses.
Fragile young horses — raced before their bones have fully matured and unable to handle the pounding and stress — suffer routinely from injuries, lameness, exhaustion and what is euphemistically called "soreness." Owners don’t want to waste time waiting until foals are physically capable. They want to get the cash flow started.
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